The Child of Music
by Forbidden1991
Summary: The Phantom has been in search for Christine for years. Not only does he find her but he finds the secret that she's been hiding. A one-shot story.


It was dark in their parents' walk-in closet; the only illumination was the daggers of light coming through the slatted double doors. Jimmy and his sister were huddled together in the farthest corner, away from the menacing light. The screams for their parents as they raced up the stairs had gone unanswered—the strange sounds from downstairs growing ever louder. Their terror filled eyes were riveted on the closet entrance, the only thing standing between them and the unknown. Gaping, their stares were drawn to the the pile of clothing at the other end of the closet. On top of the pile was a white shirt, one that belong to their father, stained with bright red blood. Jimmy knew that his father wasn't a man of violence, and so it was horrifying and strange to see the blood upon his shirt.

"God damn it Christine! Tell me the truth where is the boy?" A man says and Jimmy is drawn back to the slatted doors, intrigued by the man's voice, which did not belong to his father.

"Leave her be, your business is with me." This is Jimmy's father's voice, though now it sounds slightly off. Jimmy cannot see a thing, the closet doors are slatted, allowing light to come in but not allowing Jimmy - or his sister who was breathing heavily beside him - to see a thing.

"Ah of course you would think that Vicomte, but my business is with your wife, my angel of music. You think you have a role in this opera, that you are a key player but you cannot hold a torch against the true characters of this story. Would you not agree Christine?" The man says, and Jimmy can hear something in his voice, longing, desire all felt towards his mother Christine.

The door that had been closed, now begins to creak open. Although it is quite, Jimmy knows that he and his sister, Victoria, are not alone. The man has not left, and Jimmy can sense that he is near.

"Please Eric, my angel, my love! You can see the boy, you can hear him play, but not here, not now. Let Roaul and I go, free us from these bonds and I'll give you what your heart desires most," Christine says to the man, to Eric. Jimmy gasps as he hears his mothers voice, what exactly is she saying. Jimmy cannot play any instrument, so why did his mother say that?

Instead of Eric answering Christine, the door that Jimmy and Victoria are hiding behind gets ripped open, revealing their hiding place to the man that they do not know, to Eric the Opera Ghost.

"Did you think I wouldn't find him? You gave them away Christine. So which is it Christine, does the boy play like his father? or does the girl sing like her mother?and tell the truth Christine, I do not think they would enjoy seeing their father in his state," Eric sneers, as he pulls Jimmy and Victoria out of the closet by their elbows.

"It is a bit of both Eric, they are after all your children, how could they be gifted with music. Go ahead James, show Mr Augustine what you can do," Christine says to Jimmy, smiling sweetly at her son who smiles back in kind. Jimmy tries to ignore the shadow - that is shaped like a body - in the far side of the room.

Jimmy sits at the black polished piano and strokes the white keys with his slim fingers. Slowly a soft, nostalgia melody begins to play. Slowly Victoria drifts from the side of the man to Jimmy, a sweet voice rising from her small body. Both the children have raven black hair, ghostly white skin and dark chocolate eyes. They are an exact replica of the man standing in the middle of the room, that it is ridiculous to mistake their relation.

Jimmy can see that the man is listening with every nerve in his body, that the man is overwhelmed and perhaps even overjoyed at the music that he and his sister are creating. Jimmy captures Victoria's eye for a moment, and she understands by the look in his eyes that he is going to go for the crescendo. The music goes from being nostalgia to sharp and crisp, Jimmy is striking the keys with a speed that only a prodigy could go at, his sister another prodigy matching her voice to hit every note that he makes, the notes escalating as he plays. Jimmy hits the crescendo, and as the music stops it is as if an eagle has been struck down. The silence is maddening. After a heart beat Jimmy turns his eyes to meet the gaze of the man, and there are so many emotions in the man's eyes, and surely on his face as well but Jimmy cannot tell due to the black mask that the man wears.

"They are my children, there is no denying it," Eric breaths and Jimmy watches as the man turns his gaze from Jimmy to Christine, who sits tied to a chair, her hair rumpled and her dress shoulders torn so that the dress seems to hang off of her shoulders. It is only being held up by the corset built into the dress.

"You tried to keep this from me. Why would you do that Christine?" Eric asks Christine, his eyes showing the sorrow he feels deep within his soul. She does not take her gaze from the man in front of her. The man she has not seen in years, the one that always held her heart and her soul, but he also had never realized it.

"Because I wanted to be sure that they were yours. I wanted to make sure they were old enough before they learnt of everything. They would not have understood if I had told them when they were younger," Christine says and this weakens the man, he seems resigned now, as if he can no longer see the woman he loved in the woman before him.

"Perhaps they wouldn't have understood, but you should have told me! I went years not knowing where you were, or how you faired. Not knowing that I had children with the woman that I love. Now they can see for themselves what type of man their real father is," Eric says and then he takes the mask off. Underneath it is his distorted face, scarred and burned. Jimmy can see that this has caused the man a lot of suffering in his life, and although Victoria screams in fear, Jimmy shows no fear as he steps towards the man. Jimmy reaches up and touches the disfigured skin as the blade hidden in his sleeve slips down. With a single flick of Jimmy wrists the blade sinks deep into the man's chest. There is no remorse in Jimmy's eyes, no saddens and no love. Jimmy does not say any words over the man's death. All is quiet as Jimmy's family stares at him in horror. There was no denying it, Jimmy was Eric's son.


End file.
